When life gets in the way
by Fi15
Summary: They could never antecipate this was where they were going
1. Chapter 1

The detective and the writer park their cars with a couple minutes difference, pretending they weren't together just a few moments ago, they get out of their vehicles and greet eachother. They spot detectives Ryan and Esposito by the corner talking to Lainie who is squatting next to the dead body and immediately walk towards them.

Seeing them, Lainie starts with the regular procedure by introducing them to the victim – "Hi guys, this is…"

- "Michael Crawford!" – Castle interrupts her abruptly, in shock.

Lainie and the three detectives turn to face him surprise – "Do you know him?" – Beckett asks.

Castle doesn't respond, he seems lost on his own thoughts – "Where are the girls?" – he suddenly questions.

- "What girls?" – Beckett inquires confused.

- "Officer Higgins took them in the back" – Lainie answers – "Castle, where do you know this guy from?" – the ME asks, but he's already wandering off.

The rest of the team exchange confused looks, but apart from Beckett no-one moves, they know she's the one who has to deal with it.

- "Castle! Castle!" – she calls chasing him, but it's like he's not even listening. She finally reaches him when he stops to look around – "Hey" – she calls pulling his arm to get his attention. Castle finally faces her, and what she sees is pain in his eyes – "Castle, who is he?" – she asks softly, but before he can answer a child's voice cuts him off.

- "Uncle Richard!" – a young girl running towards them screams, a mist of fear and relieve in her voice. She doesn't stop running until she reaches Castle and wraps her little arms around him. The impact makes him stumble, once he's balanced again he lifts the girl up who, without even looking at him, hugs him as tight as she can. Beckett watches the little girl, she can't be more than 6 years old, she thinks, as she buries her face on Castle's neck, her little hands gripping his back.

- "Mel! Mel!" – an older girls wanders around calling. She stops when she finds Castle – "Uncle Richard!" – she says surprised. The girl is tall, but her features tell Beckett she must be younger than she looks. She has long brown hair and puffy red eyes – "You've heard?" – she asks Castle in a shaky voice.

He gives her a nod – "I'm so sorry, Megan" – he offers. The girl lowers her tearful eyes to the floor and, shifting her sister to the his right arm, he invites her into a hug – "come here" – he doesn't have to ask twice, in a second, Megan's face in buried in his chest as the writer whispers shooting words to both girls.

Castle finally gathers the courage to face Beckett, who hasn't moved or said a word the whole time. He can read her well by now, he knows she's confused, that she needs explanations, but he can also tell she's making an effort not to ask any questions until he's ready to answer them.

Megan is the first to pull away from his embrace – "Are you working on this case?" – the young teenager asks him, knowing that Castle follows the NYPD. Mel turns her head to face them but keeps her grip tight.

- "I am… I was" – he corrects himself uncertain – "I didn't know it was your dad until I got here" – he explains.

The girl nods quietly – "Will you find him? The guy who did this" - the girl clarifies – "You need to find him!" – she begs.

- "There's someone I want you to meet" – Castle starts by saying, glimpsing over to where Beckett is, inviting her to come closer. When the detective is standing in front of them he continues – "Girls, this is my partner, detective Kate Beckett" – he introduces, facing the girls. Then turning to Kate continues – "This is Mel, she's 5 and Megan, she's 12. They are… they were Michael's daughters" – he explains, though he's sure Beckett has understood it already.

- "Hi" – Beckett offers with a gentle smile, uncertain on what to say – "I'm really sorry for what happened" – she says sincerely.

- "Detective Beckett is the best in town and I can promise you she'll do everything she can to find out who did it" – Castle promises the girls.

- "Oh, there you are!" – officer Higgins exclaims when she finally finds the girls – "I was running around looking for you everywhere" – the woman says relieved.

- "It's okay, we'll take it from here" – Castle says.

- "Excuse me, and you are?" – the officer inquires reaching for the girls.

- "Mr. Castle, my partner and I'm detective Beckett" – Beckett intervenes showing her badge.

Immediately the officer let's go of Megan's shoulder and starts to blush. Great way to start, she thinks to herself, first you lose two kids and then you don't recognize detective Beckett – "Oh, I'm so sorry detective, I just…" – she rushes to explain, but before she can continue Beckett tells her that everything is fine and asks her to leave the children at her guard.

- "Thank you" – Castle whispers her once the officer walks away.

- "Always" – she replies, felling that he needs to hear it in that moment.

Almost oblivious to her words Castle dismisses her faster than she thought and walks towards his car. Reaching it, he asks the girl to settle inside. Beckett follows him – "What are you doing?"

- "What does it look like I'm doing?"- he retorts.

- "I don't know Castle, if I didn't know you better, I would say it looks like you are taking two witnesses from a crime scene" – the detective replies starting to get upset.

Castle closes the car door before addressing Beckett's question – "They're just kids!" – he states aggravated.

- "Still, we need to talk to them, you know that, Castle" – Beckett insists, trying to remain calm.

- "Don't you think they've been through enough? Do you really want to make their day worse?" – he accuses.

- "Why are you acting like this is my fault?" – Beckett asks – "You, better than anyone should know I take no pleasure of doing this" – she says trying not to raise her voice – "you also know I have no choice!" – she reminds him. Then, without giving him time to disagree she informs him – "I'm going to talk to Lainie and the boys to get more details, you can drive them to the precinct so that they are not here once the body gets removed, but then I'll have to talk to them" – she finishes walking away.

Castle sighs, rubbing his hands on his face, knowing that he was unfair to Beckett. Fighting with his girlfriend was the last thing he needed on a day like this.


	2. Chapter 2

All eyes are on her once she gets back to her team. They're waiting for an explanation that she can't give them yet, so she tries to go past it – "So guys, what do we know so far?"

- "That's it? No details on how the writer boy knows the victim?" – Lainie inquires.

- "I didn't have a chance to get to that" – she responds.

Knowing that that means that her friend is not about giving her more details the ME continues – "Michael Crawford, 39. Single shot to the head. There are signs of struggle, a couple of bruises on his fists and small scratches on the back on his right shoulder" – she explains.

- "Mel" – Beckett whispers remembering how the girl was holding Castle before.

- "What?" – Esposito asks intrigued.

- "I believe Michael's daughters were with him at the moment. Mel and Megan, 5 and 12. He was probably carrying the younger one on his arms when the suspect approached him and she tried to grab her dad as close as she could" – Beckett explains her theory.

The detectives nod - "So, where are they now?" – Ryan inquires.

- "Castle took them to the precinct" – she explains, they all look at eachother knowing that there's more to the story but no-one dares to ask.

* * *

**At the precinct**

The elevator's doors open and right away she spots Castle and the girls sitting by her desk. She takes a deep breath knowing from experience that when cases get personal it's always harder for them to deal with eachother. Once he sees her Castle gets up and pulls Beckett aside before she can reach her desk – "Kate, do you really have to do this?"

- "Do you really have to ask?"

- "I'm sorry, it's just they're just…" – he starts before she cuts him off.

- "… kids" – she completes – "I know Castle, you think I don't see it?" – the detective asks – "I wish I didn't have to put them through this…" – she admits and this time is Castle who interrupts.

- "So don't" – he begs.

- "Castle, remember what you promised them back at the crime scene?" – she asks him calmly.

- "That you would find the guy who did this?" – he asks to be sure.

Becket nods – "How am I supposed to do it, if you don't let me do my job?" – she questions, trying to show him her point of view.

- "Can I be there?" – Castle asks, and before Beckett can deny he promises – "I'll behave."

- "Fine" – she agrees – "but Castle, if you interfere in any way…"

- "I won't" – he guarantees.

The detective approaches the girls and invites them into question room number 2 in order to get more privacy. In other circumstances she would have preferred questioning them separately, however, considering all they have been through today Beckett thinks it's more reasonable to allow the sisters to keep eachother company. The four of them sit around the table and its Beckett who starts the conversation – "Girls, you already know I'm working to find out who hurt your dad, right?" – Beckett waits for them to nod before she continues – "We're trying to understand what happen on the alley, and we'd like to ask you some questions, would that be okay?"

Mel looks at her older sister hoping she'll respond for both, which she does – "We didn't see anything" – Megan rushes to tell Beckett.

The detective nods calmly – "I know these things can be very scary" – she starts in a warm voice, trying to break the ice – "and sometimes, we're so afraid that, to protect ourselves, we try to forget what we've seen." – she suggests. The girls remain quiet, so Beckett continues – "Anything you can remember can help us find who hurt your dad, even if it seems silly."

Megan remains in silent, eyes stuck on the floor, like she didn't hear a word the detective had just said, but Mel reacts to it, she doesn't speak, but Beckett notices how she's nervously starring at her sister almost like looking for permission to speak. Megan finally faces her little sister, her eyes wide open and the detective guesses she's ordering her not to say a word.

She hates herself to do it, but she insists with the younger girl – "There's something you want to tell us, Mel?" – she asks encouraging her, and immediately she looks at her sister – "It's okay sweetie" – Beckett calls, trying to get the girl focused on her – "you can tell us, we just want to help."

- "We've told you, we don't know anything!" – Megan snaps.

- "Is that truth, Mel?" – Beckett asks the younger sister and she can tell she almost broke her. Beckett stares at her for a moment, hopeful, but that's when Megan snaps.

- "Leave her alone!" – she shouts standing up and grabbing her sister's hand – "Uncle Rick, can we please go home?" – she begs him.

- "Of course sweetheart" – he agrees standing up too.

- "Hey!" – Beckett tries to stop him – "Last time I checked I was the cop here, I tell people when they can leave" – she fought back aggravated. Of all things Castle used to do to annoy her, disrespecting her authority was the one she couldn't bear with.

The sisters approached Castle, who, grabbing her hands decided – "We're leaving, Kate. If you want to stop us, you'll have your resources" – he said walking out.

The detective stayed back, while the three of them left the room and the precinct. She was in shock, Castle theories could be crazy, and sure he had disobeyed her before, putting himself at risk, but this was the first time he had ever challenged her like this. She punched the table, frustrated, running her hands through her hair and letting out a long sigh. Everything was finally going so smoothly with them, why did something always had to get between their relationship, she wondered.

She decided to let him go, the children seemed too scared to speak anyway, and to be honest she didn't want to pressure any more than he did. From the moment she had first seen the girls cringed around Castle's necks, this image of the day her mother was killed had been on the back of her mind, and now that she was alone it was all coming back to her again. She lets her body sink on the chair in front of her, while the memories of that day and the images of her mother's bloody body on an alley invade her mind. Beckett loves her job, standing up for the victims, bringing justice to the families, but in days like this she really wishes she would have chosen a lighter career.

The detective allows herself to break down for a few minutes before getting up to continue the investigation. She finds Esposito and Ryan in the break room – "Where's Castle?" – they ask her.

- "He went home" – she summarizes.

- "And the girls?"

- "I think he took them with him" – she replies, keeping her answers short.

- "You think?" – Ryan insists – "Beckett, no family has come forward, we have to keep them in our custody, if social services gets here and we don't know where they are…"

Beckett cuts him off, knowing what he's about to say – "I know where they are. They're with Castle, they're fine." – Esposito gives her a funny look, so she continues – "Look, Castle may be a man-child at times, but he did raise a kid, he knows what is doing, probably better than any of us would" – she concludes.

The boys exchange a look and end up nodding in agreement – "Did you learn where he knew the victim from?" – Esposito eventually asks.

She shakes her head, realizing she never really had the time to ask him that – "But I think they were close" – she guesses – "the girls kept call him «Uncle Castle»" – she tells them.

- "I thought Castle was a lonely child" – Ryan notices, looking at Becket for confirmation.

- "He is, as least as far as I know" – Beckett agrees, distracted.

- "So, where do you want us to start?" – Esposito asks Beckett, seeing that it's personal and wanting to give her the chance to be in control.

- "Let's check with Lainie as soon as she has the report completed and canvas the area for possible witnesses. This is New York City, someone must have seen something" – she plans – "Do we know where is from?" – she questions the boys.

- "Boston" – Ryan replies, looking at the file.

She nods – "I'll try to figure out what he was doing in New York and see if I manage to find any relatives."


	3. Chapter 3

The detectives engage in their tasks and for hours Beckett tries, unsuccessfully to find a living relative that she can contact to come and pick up the girls. While searching for why Michael was in town Beckett learns that he's a history professor at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston and can't help but wonder where his past crossed with Castle's. She glimpses at her phone a few times, hoping to hear from him, until she ends up putting inside the drawer so it doesn't distract her anymore.

Around 8 p.m detectives Ryan and Esposito approach her desk – "Any luck, Beckett?"

"No…" – she replies frustrated – "all I could find is that he was in town for a conference at the NYC Seminar and Conference Cente, but apart from that, absolutely nothing!" – she vents – "You?"

- "Lainie confirmed the cause of death, the bullet was a .45 bullet, she ran it through all the data bases but so far hasn't match to any weapon on the system" – Esposito informs her.

- "Anything else?" – she inquires hopeful

- "They also found, some fibers on the wounds, Lainie sent them to the lab, we should have more details in the morning" – Ryan continued – "the guy had no wallet nor cash with him, so it's possible it was a robbing gone wrong" – he concludes.

- "Any word on Castle?" – Esposito asks her.

Beckett shakes her head, running her hands through her face - "Maybe we should call it a day" – Esposito suggests, and for his and Ryan's surprise she agrees.

- "Yes, we'll get a fresh start in the morning" – she says getting up and grabbing her jacket. Before she leaves she calls him – "Hey guys, thank you!"

- "For what?" – Esposito asks her.

- "Just… thank you" – she says, heading towards the elevator.

* * *

Beckett struggles with herself, unsure whether or not she should stop by the loft to see Castle. Their relationship is still private and she knows she shouldn't risk it, but she can't help herself and when she notices, she's already parked at his door. The takes a long breath before knocking at the door, not certain what she's about to find on the other side. As soon has the doorbell rings she hears Castle's voice asking "Who is it?", but it takes him a few minutes to actually open the door.

- "Beckett, what do you want?" – he asks sharply when he finally gets the door open.

- "I want to talk to you" – she answers, once again trying not to let his tone get to her.

- "This is not a good time" – he states, not making a move to invite her in.

- "Then make it a good time" – she replies firmly, as she passes by him and enters the apartment without needing an invitation.

- "We've told you we don't know anything!" – she immediately hears Megan's voice shouting.

The detective turns around to see her, responding softly – "I know, I'm not here to talk to you girls, I just need to have a word with _Uncle Rick_" – she assures them.

Knowing Beckett well enough to know she's not about to leave him of the hook Castle ends up agreeing. He instructs the girl to sit on the couch watching TV and invites Beckett into the office so they can have more privacy – "I'll be right here if you need anything" – he tells the two girls before closing the door behind him.

Beckett doesn't speak for a moment, she wants to be facing him when she asks the questions, she wants to look into his eyes, she wants to see if he'll give her anything before she has to question him.

- "You have me here" – he states coldly – "what do you want to talk about?"

- "What the hell is going on Castle?" – she asks, frustration and hurt taking over her – "Who the hell was that guy? What's your relationship with these kids? And why on earth are you so mad at me?!" – she vents.

- "I'm not mad at you!" – he shouts immediately, aggressively, and she looks at him in disbelief – "I'm not mad at you, Kate" – he repeats, this time softer.

- "Then why are you treating me like crap?" – she asks him, but he doesn't respond, instead his eyes move from facing her, to face the floor – "Castle, I want to help you with this. Whatever _this _is, but I need you to let me. I know they're just kids, I know it isn't fair, I don't like this anymore than you do."

- "I'm know…"

- "Do you, really?" - Beckett wonders – "because by the way you're talking to me I feel like you're almost blaming me for what's happening" – she confesses.

- "What? No, Kate, I don't!" – he rushes to correct her – "I'm sorry, I know I've been acting like an idiot, it's just…" – he trails of.

Watching him struggling to find the right words Beckett approaches him and reaches for his hand – "It's just what, Castle?" – she encourages him softly.

- "At the scene I just had to pull away" – he finally tells her.

- "Why?" – the detective asks confused.

- "Because I couldn't believe it was Michael there, I couldn't believe the girls will have to go through this, because I was using all the strength I had to keep it together when all I really wanted was to fall into your arms" – he lets out in a breath – "and I knew I couldn't. All I wanted was to kiss you and let you tell me everything was fine, but I couldn't do that, not there, so I had to pull away."

- "Castle, I'm sorry, I…" – she babbles.

- "No, it's fine, we both agreed to do it this way" – he stops her – "it's not your fault."

- "I get why you did it then" – Beckett starts again – "but then, why did you try to make me leave now?" – she asks the writer – "in case we haven't notice we're alone now" – she hints him.

Castle lets go of her hand and walks to the couch where he sits. She follows him, sitting beside him – "I actually hoped all day for you to come here" – he says – "though I didn't think you would after the way I acted" – he admits.

- "It's not like you never had to deal with one of my meltdowns" – she reminds him, trying to relax him a bit.

"Yeah" – he nods, with a sweet smile on his face, that tells Beckett what she already knows, that despite everything he's happy to have been there for her when she needed him – "anyway, I really wished you would come, but just before you knocked at the door Megan reminded me that Michael had called me last evening."

- "What did he want?" – Beckett inquires, her detective mode back on.

- "We wanted to see me, he invited me to dinner…"

- "… but you had plans with me" – Beckett completes his sentence. Disturbed, she gets up and paces around the room for a while before stopping next to his desk – "that's why you blame me, you could have seen him one last time" – she states without a hint of resentment in her voice, she understands it now.

- "No!" – Castle disagrees both firmly and softly, getting up to meet her on the other side of the room. When he's standing in front of her he continues – "I don't blame you, Kate" – he repeats and he can see she doesn't believe him – "I might have, for a moment, I'm not going to deny it, but I know it's not your fault. I wish… If I had known that would be his last night…" – he starts, unable to finish his thought, his tearful eyes on the floor.

- "It's not your fault either" – she reassures him, caressing his cheek. Castle nods, he knows she's right, but still that doesn't make it easier. Beckett had realized before that this man was someone close to Castle, but it is only now that he is standing in front of her with his guard down that she can really see how much he is suffering – "Who was he, Castle?" – she asks softly, almost in a whisper, but before he can answer a scream is heard from the living room. They immediately run to find the girls, Beckett already reaching for her holster. They find them paralyzed, a few inches from the door.

- "What happened?" – Castle asks kneeling next to them.

- "There's someone at the door!" – Megan explains out of breath, right before they hear a knock.

Castle relaxes – "It's probably just our pizzas" – he tranquilizes them, standing up to get the door.

- "Don't open, uncle Rick, please!" – Mel begs pulling him back down.

Castle looks at Beckett, searching for help and once again she doesn't let him down – "You get behind the counter" - she tells them – "I'll check it out" - she says. The girls look at the detective unsure, but with Castle reassurance end up agreeing. Just like Castle had guessed it was just the pizza guy, so Beckett reaches for her pocket to get some cash and meet the girls and Castle in the kitchen with the boxes of pizza.

- "See, I told you there was nothing to worry about" – Castle tells the girls, though Beckett can tell he's relieved too – "You're safe here" – the writer assures them – "now, let's go ahead and have some dinner, you must be starving" – he suggests.

Megan and Mel agree and sit on the stools around the counter – "You're staying too, detective Beckett?" – little Mel asks her.

- "I.. uh, well I…" – she babbles, trying to meet Castle's eyes to know what to say.


	4. Chapter 4

Megan and Mel agree and sit on the stools around the counter – "You're staying too, detective Beckett?" – little Mel asks her.

- "I.. uh, well I…" – she babbles, trying to meet Castle's eyes to know what to say.

- "Please do" – he invites her tenderly.

- "Are you sure?" – Beckett wants to confirm.

- "Yes, there's plenty food here for everyone" – he tells her winking.

They end up having dinner together, just the four of them, as Alexis is in college and Martha is away for the weekend with one of her so famous dates. It's getting late, and by the time they finished Castle notices Mel yawning – "Tired?" – he asks her softly. The girl tries to deny it, but another yawn stops her. – "I think it's been a long day, you two should rest" – Castle suggests still not sure if or when Beckett is going to tell him she needs to take them back.

- "Where will we sleep?" – Megan inquires, launching a terrified look at Castle and wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder – "I don't think they'll let us stay in the hotel without daddy…" – she fears.

Castle prepares to say something, but before he gets a chance Beckett takes initiative – "You'll stay here" – the detective informs them tenderly, leaving a shocked look on Castle's face, who can't do anything other than whisper her "Thank you".

The girls seem relieved with her decision, and after a couple minutes Castle takes them upstairs. Megan and Mel say goodnight to Beckett and before following them, Castle asks her – "Can you please wait?" – his voice trembling. They're close and once again all they want is to fall in eachothers arms, but they can't, it would be too risky. Their relationship is still in the dark, apart from Alexis and Martha who took it surprisingly well. To be honest, Beckett always had a feeling that Martha was rooting for them, but she feared things with Alexis would be weird which hadn't happen.

- "I wasn't planning on going anywhere" – she tells him with a smile.

It takes Castle more than half an hour to put the girls to sleep and by the time he comes down Beckett already cleaned up the kitchen and is waiting for him on the couch. She smiles when she sees him, a smile full of love and compassion – "Sorry, they were scared, they asked me to wait until they were a sleep" – the writer justifies.

- "It's okay" – she assures him, offering him a hand and pulling him down to sit next to her.

They remain silent for a while, she doesn't want to pressure him and he doesn't even know where to start. Even without words, they can find comfort in eachother, there's just so much complicity between them that just being close is enough to ease their pain. They tangled their fingers together, and Castle pulls her hand up to softly kiss them.

- "Are you okay?" – Beckett eventually asks.

Castle shakes his head – "I don't know" – he confesses in a murmur. He keeps it short, so she doesn't push it, afraid he's not ready yet, but after a small pause he continues – "We met in high school, I was about fifteen" – he tells her. Beckett gives his hand a squeeze of encouragement and he continues – "we both had been transferred from different schools and were having a hard time. Believe it or not I wasn't always this charming" – he jokes, making Becket chuckle.

- "That's hard to believe" – she admits.

He smiles at her honesty – "We became my best friend, he's the only person I still see regularly from those times, and now…"

- "I'm so sorry, Castle" – Beckett tells him, heartbroken, as she pulls him against her. Gently, she presses a kiss on his lips, on his cheeks, on his temples, as he lays his head on her chest and lets her wrap her arms around him. Like a small child, he stays on the nest of her lap, grateful for not having to go through this alone and wondering how she ever managed to cope with her own mother's death at such a young age.

- "I'm sorry" – he whispers, not moving.

- "Shsh" – Beckett tranquilizes him, running her hands through his hair.

She can feel his head shaking from side to side on her chest – "No, I had no right to mistreat you like I did, and…"

Beckett interrupts him – "Hey" – she calls, having him look at her in the eyes – "it's fine, we're fine!" – she says, meaning it, and before he can disagree she continues – "Look, I wasn't happy with your reaction, but I get it, I do. Plus, it's not like I never snapped at you before" – she says, though it hurts her to admit how much pain she must have cause him in the past.

Castle offers her a small smile, knowing that she's right. He brushes his lips against hers whispering – "I love you, Kate."

She smiles back, even though her mouth is still clashed against his – "I love you too, Castle".

They've been together for about a year and yet he still can't believe everytime she says those words. He always wondered how it would be to date Kate Beckett, for four years he had shadow her pretty much everywhere and everyday falling back in love with her a little more, but he feared that being in a relationship with her would change that, except it didn't. The only thing it had done so far was increasing the amount of love and respect he had for this woman, because now he was also able to see her other sides, the softer, more relaxed and loving sides.

The two fall asleep in eachother arms and it's about 5 a.m. when Kate wakes up. She opens her eyes slowly, looking around confused and smiling when she realizes she still has Castle's body wrapped around hers. He seems so peaceful sleeping that she hates to have to wake him up and bring him back to the real world, where his best friend was murdered and his two little girls left orphans. She considers sneaking out, however, she knows Castle too well to know he would not forgive her, so she gently rubs is arm while calling his name. After a few attempts he finally flickers his eyes. Beckett waits for a couple of minutes, giving him time to adjust to the light, but as soon as he's awake he pulls her closer, tightening his grip – "I have to go" – she whispers, not wanting to end that moment any more than he does.

- "Why?" – he wines.

She smiles, loving the soft, needy, childish side of him – "the girls will be up in a couple hours, we can't risk them finding me here" – she reminds him.

He pouts but gets up, knowing that she's right. It's possible that the girls will have to be involved in the investigation again and they can't be sure they won't tell the others – "Have coffee with me before you go?" – he asks.

- "It's 5 a.m., Castle" – she points out.

- "It's not like any of us will be getting any more sleep anyway, am I wrong?" – he tries to convince her, and sometimes she wishes he didn't know her so well.

- "Okay" – she agrees, standing next to him and leaning for a kiss. It starts slow, but it rapidly evolves to an intense and passionate kiss. By the way he's holding her so tight she can tell he's panicking, so resting her forehead against his she promises – "we'll figure this out."

Castle nods hesitantly grabbing her hand and directing her into the kitchen to get them some coffee.

- "So, why didn't I have to deal with a Social services' agent at my door last night?" – the writer asks when they are finally settled.

- "We didn't manage to locate any relatives yet" – the detective explains – "I was actually hopping you could help me with that, but we didn't exactly had time for that yesterday" – she finishes with a small smile.

- "That still doesn't explain why they didn't come to pick them up" – Castle insists.

Beckett sighs before answering, she was hoping they wouldn't have to speak about it – "Because, despite what you think, I do care about the girls, and I think… better, I know, they are in much better care here with you" – she clarifies.

Her voice is steady and calm, but Castle can tell she's hurt – "I'm sorry, Kate, I know you care."

- "Do you, Castle, really?" – she asks uncertain.

- "Yes!" – he replies without hesitation – "Kate, that was one of the first things I loved about you. How you commit to the victims and their families. How, after dealing with so many deaths, you still care about each of them" – he tells her sincerely – "I was an idiot, I was hurting and mad and… I'm so sorry, Kate!"

Beckett takes a moment to process his speech – "It's okay, I just… I just needed to make sure you knew."

- "I do!" – Castle insists.

- "Good" – she says, curling her lips into a smile.

- "Good" – he repeats, smiling back at her.

- "So, do you know anything about their family?" – Beckett asks.

- "Michael didn't have any brothers and his parents died a couple years ago" – he tells her.

- "What about the girls' mother?"

- "She died giving birth to Mel" – Castle says – "I think her parents were from Long Island" – he calls – "though for what I know they didn't get along too well."

- "Do you know their names?" – the detective asks hopefully.

Castle shakes his head – "No, sorry. But Michael's wife's maiden name was Morse. Trisha Morse. Maybe you can find anything with that" – he offers.

- "Thank you!" – the detective tells him appreciated – "Now, I really have to go" – she informs him, standing up.

- "Don't go!" – he stops her, grabbing her arm. Beckett looks at him surprised – "I miss you" – he whispers.

- "C'mon Castle, I didn't even left yet" – she says with a chuckle. Then, seeing that he's not joking her expressions softens. She rubs the palm of her hand through his cheek and with her free hand searches for his – "I'll be right here if you need me" – she promises, their lips only a couple inches apart.

- "I need you" – he pleads.

His words break her heart, she doesn't recall ever watching Castle this needy - "I know" – she offers him softly, placing a light kiss on the corner of his mouth – "I also know, you need me to solve this case" – she reminds him.

- "I do…" – he murmurs facing down.

She searches for his mouth and brushes her lips against him one last time before turning to the door.


End file.
